On Monday, a significant number of youths took to the streets in various parts of Lagos State, including Ojuelegba and Maryland, to express their frustration over the escalating prices of food and the general high cost of living under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The protest, which was closely monitored, saw participants brandishing placards with messages such as “Reversal of the hike in fuel prices,” “Palliative is a scam!”, and “Reverse all anti-people neo-liberal policies of privatisation.”
The National Coordinator of the Education Right Campaign, Taiwo Soweto, spoke out during the protest, articulating the group’s discontent with President Tinubu’s policies, which they see as contributing to widespread poverty and economic difficulties.
Soweto emphasized, “We are here to protest the anti-liberal governance of Tinubu, the devastating poverty, the removal of fuel subsidy, and the devaluation of the naira. Our people can no longer eat, and they cannot pay for their children to go to school. We need them to provide leadership to ease the suffering.”
He also blamed the government’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy for exacerbating the situation, criticizing the unfulfilled promises of privatization.
“The immediate root of the problem was when he removed the fuel subsidy… The wealth of this country is distributed to a few looters and it must go round.”
Akintunde Adeji, another protester, called upon Nigerians to join the movement, noting the anticipated involvement of the Trade Union Congress and the Nigerian Labour Congress in the upcoming protests.
“The protest aims to summon the message to the ruling cabal. Enough is enough because the hardship is terrible. We are summoning all Nigerians to come out tomorrow to register their displeasure about the suffering,” he declared.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Adegoke Fayoade, assured that the police presence was not to hinder the protest but to ensure it remained peaceful and was not exploited by opportunistic elements.
Fayoade stated, “The position of the police is very simple. They have the right to protest, and we are here so that the protest will not be hijacked. Constitutionally, they have the right to protest, but they should not disturb the serenity and peace of Lagosians.”
